When you’re in the business of selling to social media users, understanding social selling is key. It empowers you to leverage social platforms for identifying ideal prospects, cultivating genuine connections, and positioning yourself as the go-to choice when they’re ready to buy. While it’s not overly complicated, aggressive sales pitches won’t work here. A more nuanced approach is crucial. This comprehensive guide provides a complete blueprint for launching your own social selling strategy. We’ll cover what to post, when to connect, and how to boost conversions with a softer touch.

Table of contents

• What is social selling?
• Who is social selling for?
• What are the benefits of social selling?
• What are the four pillars of social selling?
• Which social selling platforms are best?
• 9 tips to become a pro-level social seller
• What are the best social selling tools?
• 3 stellar social selling examples
• The 30-day social selling launch plan
• Social selling FAQs

What is social selling?

Social selling is a lead generation approach that involves identifying, qualifying, and establishing connections with potential customers on social media. The strategy emphasizes active listening to understand prospect priorities and actively participating in or initiating relevant conversations to build relationships.

Imagine you’re a commercial contractor. Someone on X (formerly Twitter) mentions plans to expand their business in your area and inquires about local building codes. You step in with a helpful answer and some useful resources. Guess who’s top of mind when they’re requesting bids for their new building upgrade?

It’s important to note that social selling focuses on long-term lead nurturing rather than immediate sales. The goal is to foster trust through genuine connections, not just close impersonal transactions. The beauty of social selling is that it acts like a free, constantly accessible networking event, eliminating the need for travel. You can cultivate individual relationships on a scale unattainable through traditional in-person networking or cold calling. Looking to supercharge your outreach efforts? Download this comprehensive list of emotionally charged marketing words and phrases.

Social selling vs. traditional selling

Social selling diverges from conventional sales strategies in its location, target audience, and mode of interaction.

Social selling unfolds on social media platforms, while traditional selling often relies on in-person meetings or cold calls.

Social selling allows for direct engagement with product users or key decision-makers. Conversely, traditional sales often involve navigating gatekeepers before reaching the ultimate decision-maker.

Social selling leverages warm introductions and individualized conversations to engage prospects, while traditional sales tactics often depend on generic scripts and broad outreach.

Social selling vs. social media marketing

Social media marketing often involves one-to-many broadcasting, whereas social selling emphasizes one-on-one relationship building.

While social media marketing can prioritize conversions and even include social shopping features for direct purchases, social selling focuses on prospect interaction, with conversions happening outside the social platform.

Despite their differences, social media marketing and social selling can work synergistically. A helpful social media post, part of your broader marketing strategy, can transition into a social selling opportunity when a prospect engages with it.

Who is social selling for?

If your company sells products or services to individuals active on social media, social selling is relevant. This means it applies to almost every business, given that over 62% of the global population (and over 90% of the US population) are social media users. Social selling works for businesses of all sizes. A Fortune 500 software company might target chief technology officers for million-dollar deals, while a local physical therapist can use it to share health tips with fitness enthusiasts in their area.

What are the benefits of social selling?

Social selling, while enjoyable, requires a time investment. Still on the fence? Let’s delve into the benefits.

You connect with people where they’re comfortable

The average person spends roughly 2.5 hours each day on social media. While many are there to connect with friends and family, a significant portion use social networks to research products and consume brand content.

Source This presents a prime opportunity to position yourself as a valuable resource, ready to assist when they need it most.

Builds trust through conversation

An older HubSpot study revealed that a mere 3% of consumers trust salespeople. That’s concerning!

Source It’s unlikely to bridge that trust gap in a brief cold call. However, on social media, relationships that cultivate trust can develop over time.

Consider this: If you were hiring, would you lean towards a recruiting company that consistently answered your hiring queries on LinkedIn or one that cold-called you?

Lets you time outreach perfectly

Successful social media engagement often hinges on timing. This is where social selling shines. By using social listening to track brand mentions, competitor discussions, or industry-related conversations, you can engage prospects at the optimal moment.

Every major social platform has a search function, allowing you to unearth prospects through hashtags, company names, or job titles.

Furthermore, social media bios often offer a wealth of information. A quick scan can reveal someone’s workplace, job title, and interests. That’s more data than you’d find on most cold-calling lists!

It’s a proven technique

LinkedIn data confirms that sales teams integrating social selling see greater success. The research indicates that social selling leaders:

• Generate more opportunities
• Achieve quota more consistently
• Outperform colleagues who don’t leverage social media

Source Moreover, your competitors are likely already capitalizing on social selling. Sales representatives now spend 12% more time engaging with prospects and customers virtually compared to 2015.

EveryoneSocial, a brand advocacy platform, reports that social sellers close deals that are 48% larger than their counterparts who don’t use social selling.

Delivers a fantastic ROI

Starting with social selling requires minimal investment – a free social media account, dedicated time, and a solid strategy. There are no significant upfront costs, ad purchases, or travel expenses.

As you begin generating quality leads, you can explore tools to enhance efficiency, which we’ll discuss later.

What are the four pillars of social selling?

Four core concepts form the bedrock of any successful social selling strategy.

1. Establish your brand on social media: Before engaging prospects, create a compelling profile and share relevant content that establishes you as an industry authority.
2. Build your network: Identify existing customers, potential prospects, thought leaders, and influencers you want to connect with.
3. Share valuable insights: Become a go-to information source by providing insightful content directly to your prospects when they need it most.
4. Cultivate relationships: Solidify connections by establishing trust with decision-makers and influencers.

Which social selling platforms are best?

The optimal social selling platform depends on your offerings and your target audience’s online behavior. That being said, LinkedIn and Twitter are particularly well-suited for social selling, as they foster professional conversations and offer tools to facilitate sales network growth.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the leading platform for B2B social selling, boasting over 1 billion users, primarily there for professional engagement. This means your industry-focused conversations align perfectly with the platform’s purpose.

LinkedIn simplifies professional networking. Use the search bar to find specific job titles or individuals at target companies, and then filter to see connections within your network. Talk about warm introductions!

LinkedIn’s powerful LinkedIn Sales Navigator tool enables you to prioritize prospects, identify potential advocates, and even uncover accounts signaling high purchase intent.

Finally, LinkedIn’s social selling index (SSI) offers valuable insights.

Source This metric gauges your performance against the four pillars of social selling. Access your Social Selling Index dashboard to view your overall score and compare it against industry benchmarks.

X (formerly Twitter)

X’s design encourages public discourse, making it ideal for engaging in conversations and showcasing your expertise.

Finding relevant discussions is straightforward with hashtags. Search by hashtag or click on those used by accounts you follow to discover others using them.

For instance, if a customer uses #HRIssues, clicking on it will likely lead you to other potential clients seeking HR software solutions.

X’s List feature adds another layer of networking power. Lists enables quick identification of relevant groups.

Follow existing lists to expand your network or create private lists to monitor competitors or keep tabs on existing clients.

Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram

While popular social marketing platforms, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram are less conducive to direct social selling as users often view them as escapes from work. However, they can still offer benefits depending on your offerings.

Social selling on Facebook

Facebook’s privacy settings can make engaging new individuals challenging. Unless a post is public, you can’t interact with it. One workaround is leveraging Facebook groups. Seek out existing groups relevant to your field or establish your own.

Within these groups, prioritize being helpful and approachable. Overtly sales-focused behavior can lead to removal by group administrators. Speaking of Facebook…Want to know how your ads stack up against the competition? Download our latest Facebook ads benchmarks!

Social selling on TikTok

TikTok’s increasing popularity as a sales channel stems from its use in product and service discovery. However, its visual nature and less prominent comment sections make it less ideal for direct conversations.

Focus your efforts on entertaining videos that align with TikTok trends to build brand awareness.

Social selling on Instagram

Finding individuals to connect with on Instagram can be challenging unless they’re high-profile or you have their handle. Moreover, its visual focus makes initiating organic conversations difficult.

Similar to TikTok, your social selling strategy here should revolve around posting valuable content that attracts your target audience. You can also try engaging with comments on posts from complementary brands (e.g., cosmetics companies if you’re a fashion brand) but tread lightly to avoid coming across as intrusive.

9 tips to become a pro-level social seller

Now that we understand the pillars and their application across platforms, let’s explore nine tactics to accelerate your efforts.

1. Provide value and prove your expertise first

Before making direct connections, focus on building credibility. Remember, nobody likes a sales pitch right off the bat.

Start by consistently sharing helpful and insightful content, both original and curated from other sources.

Source Effective social sharing is built on mutually beneficial relationships. Before asking for something in return, like scheduling a demo, provide value upfront.

2. Be an active social listener

Social listening is like having a superpower – you’re aware of what people are discussing online. This allows you to join conversations organically and engage potential customers.

Set up alerts on LinkedIn for specific account posts and on X (formerly Twitter) for hashtag mentions.

For more comprehensive monitoring, explore social media management tools. These tools can track:

• Brand mentions
• Product mentions
• Competitor mentions
• Trending keywords
• Brand-specific keywords
• Relevant hashtags

3. Optimize your profiles

First impressions matter. When someone encounters your social media account, many head straight to your profile.

A professional and complete profile is essential.

Source While each platform has its own style guidelines, generally:

• Use professional profile and banner images
• Craft a concise bio explaining what you do and for whom
• Complete all profile fields
• Include a website link in your bio
• Add social proof if possible

If using a personal LinkedIn account, gather recommendations. Consider exchanging recommendations with colleagues for mutual benefit.

4. Personalize connection requests

Once you’ve built rapport through content sharing and comment interactions, formalize the relationship with a connection request. The most effective introduction messages are tailored and relevant, especially in social selling, where you’ve invested in building a personal connection.

Consider these personalization tactics:

• Mention mutual connections
• Reference a recent interaction
• Offer something valuable (like a link to a relevant article)
• Address them by name and mention their company or job title

5. Continuously grow your network

Social selling isn’t a one-off endeavor; it’s about playing the long game. Set weekly goals for posts, comments, and replies. Dedicate blocks of time specifically for managing your social media network.

Most importantly, be patient. Many new connections won’t have immediate needs but may require your services in the future. Even if they don’t, they could provide valuable introductions down the line.

6. Be active in comments and replies

This is fundamental to social selling. A well-timed, relevant comment is your foot in the door with a potential customer, contributing to the conversation and boosting the post’s visibility through platform algorithms.

Don’t overlook engaging with existing customers.

Source Stepping in to provide assistance is a powerful social selling tactic.

7. Strike up conversations in your posts

You don’t always have to initiate conversations elsewhere; draw them to your posts with engaging questions and polls.

Source Whether humorous or thought-provoking, questions spark dialogue. Take note of who participates and their viewpoints. Remember to always reply to keep the discussion flowing.

8. Engage with influencers

Industry influencers can be powerful allies in your social selling endeavors. They have the audience you want to reach, and their content can inspire your posts and outreach.

Source Engaging with influencers doesn’t require formal agreements. Start by liking and commenting on their posts, referencing and linking to them in your content, and drawing insights from their comment sections. You can even invite them to collaborate.

9. Find communities to join

Numerous online communities, both on social networks and beyond, are waiting to be explored. These groups, built on conversation and support, are ideal for social selling.

Source Observing online group dynamics provides valuable audience insights. The real magic, however, happens when you actively participate, answer questions, and celebrate successes alongside other members.

If you can’t find a suitable group, consider establishing your own brand community.

What are the best social selling tools?

Social media management tools can significantly enhance your efficiency and effectiveness. Here are a few to consider.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

It’s no surprise that LinkedIn offers a leading social selling tool. What’s remarkable is the sheer power of LinkedIn Sales Navigator.

Source Sales Navigator’s Relationship Explorer is a standout feature, enabling you to identify individuals who can open doors within organizations, such as those with shared connections. It also helps pinpoint the most relevant prospects and provides alerts for significant events like management changes.

Meltwater

Meltwater is a social listening powerhouse for a reason. Its specialized tool tracks brand, product, and audience mentions across your social media accounts. It provides sentiment analysis and can even recognize images.

Source Mettlwater’s social listening alerts are noteworthy. Set an alert for your brand, and you’ll get notified when it’s mentioned, allowing for timely engagement.

EveryoneSocial

EveryoneSocial is a brand advocacy platform that simplifies content planning, posting, and sharing for employees and executives. It offers features specifically designed to empower sales professionals in growing their pipeline through social media.

Source EveryoneSocial provides a centralized content hub for team sharing and an analytics dashboard to track engagement, reach, clicks, and more from all connected accounts.

3 stellar social selling examples

Let’s examine real-world examples of businesses, both large and small, excelling at social selling.

TruMotion Therapy

This example demonstrates that social selling isn’t exclusive to large corporations. TruMotion Therapy, a local physical therapy practice, actively engages on Instagram, building a dedicated following seeking solutions for aches and pains.

Source Their approach transcends social media marketing and becomes social selling through post-publication engagement. TruMotion Docs actively continue conversations with individual commenters, offering personalized advice and answers. When appropriate, they transition the interaction to direct messages, moving the connection further down the sales funnel.

Starbucks

You might not associate chain restaurants or consumer brands with social selling, but some excel at it.

Scroll through Starbucks’ feed on X, and you’ll encounter countless interactions between the brand and its fans. While many are simple acknowledgments, others are more personalized.

Source Regardless, social media allows Starbucks to connect with individual customers in a way other marketing strategies can’t replicate.

Zoetis CEO

Kristin Peck, the CEO of Zoetis, a pet care pharmaceutical company, actively comments on posts from individuals in her industry, especially those mentioning animals.

Source This fosters a sense of community within her network and provides inspiration for future posts that reinforce her brand’s presence.

The 30-day social selling launch plan

Let’s put theory into practice. Follow this step-by-step plan over the next 30 days to create a fully functional social selling strategy.

Day 1 to 5: Get set up

This week focuses on tool selection, setup, and establishing ground rules for your strategy. Some steps might already be in place if you’re already active on social media. To get set up:

• Choose your social media platforms
• Develop a social media style guide
• Identify relevant hashtags
• Create and optimize your social media profiles
• Select your social selling tools
• Set up social listening for brand, competitor, and industry mentions
• Analyze five competitor social media accounts

Day 6 to 15: Establishing credibility

Now it’s about building a foundation with your audience. Focus on being helpful and showcasing your expertise without resorting to bragging. To establish credibility:

• Develop a social media content calendar
• Determine your posting frequency
• Brainstorm helpful content ideas
• Curate valuable content from other sources
• Produce and schedule a week’s worth of content

Day 15 to 25: Begin outreach

Let’s get proactive. Identify individuals and accounts for initial engagement. To begin outreach:

• Search for active posters in your industry
• Narrow it down to 10 targets
• Reply to 2-3 posts from each account
• Go beyond simple agreements and contribute to the conversation
• Repost or retweet content from at least one of those posts, tagging the account

Day 26 to 30: Make contact and analyze

In the final phase, focus on direct connection and assess your progress. To make contact and analyze:

• Send a connection request to one new contact
• Review metrics from your chosen social selling tool
• Identify posts, comments, and replies with the highest engagement
• Use the data to plan for the following month Now, continue expanding your network! Plan out your entire year’s marketing strategy with this free must-have marketing calendar.

Social selling FAQs

We’ll address some common questions about social selling.

Does social selling really work?

Data confirms that social selling effectively boosts sales pipelines and closes larger deals more frequently. For example:

• Instagram found that 78% of social sellers outperform those who don’t use social media
• EveryoneSocial reports that social selling leads are 7x more likely to convert compared to other tactics.
• 51% of Baby Boomers, 69% of Gen X, and 86% of Gen Z have interacted with companies on social media.

What is social selling the inbound way?

Inbound marketing centers around attracting customers rather than pursuing them through ads and cold outreach. Social selling, inherently inbound, aligns with this approach. Therefore, “social selling the inbound way” is synonymous with social selling.

Is social selling creepy?

Approached correctly, social selling isn’t creepy. It’s about engaging appropriately, offering genuine help, and avoiding aggressive sales pitches.

Grow your business with social selling

The days of intrusive sales tactics are fading. Generic scripts and impersonal outreach are losing their effectiveness. In their place are genuine connections and authentic relationships cultivated on social media.

Social selling requires minimal effort to start. Begin by engaging with posts that resonate with you. People will notice, and you’ll be well on your way to success.